Orange, a French multinational telecommunications corporation and one of the potential bidders to secure a telecom license in Ethiopia, has launched a digital centre in the Ethio ICT Park. Orange Digital Centre Ethiopia will work on promoting digital skills, supporting job creation, and encouraging youth participation in innovation.

Orange, which reported a turnover of 42 billion euros in 2019, launched the Centre as a nonprofit organisation funded by the German Development Agency (GIZ). The Centre, which is also part of a network of 32 Orange Digital Centres located across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, is the third in Africa after Tunisia and Senegal.

The launching was attended by Abraham Belay, minister of Innovation & Technology, Lelise Neme, commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Sandokan Debebe, the CEO of the Industrial Parks Development Corporation, and the German and French ambassadors to Ethiopia. The centre is housed at the ICT Park located close to Bole Lemi Industrial Park, which is considered Ethiopia's Silicon Valley. The ICT Park is currently a home of private operators such as ZTW, Techno Mobile and Security Innovation Network, among others.

The Digital Centre consists of three components: a coding school; FabLab Solidaire, a digital manufacturing laboratory; Orange Fab, a startup accelerator; and an investment fund dubbed Orange Ventures Africa. The coding school, which currently has 25 trainees, is equipped with computers and software that Orange will use to provide both graduates and non-graduates with training and workshops on computer programming, cybersecurity and soft skills.

There are different application criteria for trainees to enroll depending on their status, according to Meron Bekele, director of the coding school.

Orange is one of the 11 companies that showed interest in becoming one of the two new operators that will receive full-service telecommunications licenses as part of the government's liberalisation of the telecom sector. The winners are expected to be announced on April 5, 2021.